183. 1981-12-31

12784 Oakland 14:50

Main theme at :06, 3:01, 3:48, and 12:35.
First verse at 3:58.
Second verse at 13:03.
Goes into Bertha.


Now Brent Mydland is on the scene, and he tinkles along in a more or less pleasing way; Garcia is on the Tiger now. The intro gives way to a snappy and sort of funky assertion of the theme—it’s mostly comping until Garcia fires off a line at :34, but this doesn’t lead anywhere in particular. They seem kind of unsure how to get into it, and the band is much more rhythmically oriented now, so this almost sounds like a backing track for a while. At about 2:10 there’s a little uptick in energy, but this is almost immediately reversed.


They slip into an intriguing space that seems like it might lead somewhere. The theme reemerges, and then Garcia ventures forth a little more. He soon brings it back to the theme, and that’s it for the introductory section, as he quickly goes to the verse. The appreciation of the crowd can be heard on the SBD recording as the vocals begin. The band bobbles the chordal reverse in the second couplet this time; I don’t think all of them remembered it.


As they swing back into the jam, Jerry seems more determined to make something happened, and then Lesh starts playing more forcefully too, but Weir and Mydland go back to comping. Oddly, after a short time Jerry starts comping too. Nobody else steps out, so he brings the lead line back. He brings them to a peak as we cross the seven minute mark, with Weir pushing a bit now. The band is starting to sound particularly good now, but we haven’t heard many ideas yet.



8:00 sees a more laid back, spooky segment beginning. Mydland comes to the fore a bit more but his playing is fundamentally ornamental. As Garcia moves them into a minor key zone, Brent plays some tinkling flourishes, but if anyone moves things forward it seems like it’s not going to be him. Reaching the 10 minute mark, the vibe has started to disperse, and then they pull it together—Jerry relies on repetition here and elsewhere to get a little energy going. The ensemble has a more delicate balance by 11:00, almost like chamber music. Like everything else noteworthy here, this proves to be brief.


Garcia kicks on the distortion at 11:20, and soon the drummers kick back into a more laidback groove. Oddly, this evaporates after a few bars; there’s a promising moment where it all gets spacey, but Jerry brings the theme back and they go to the second verse. They pedal along for a little while after the verse and then Jerry strikes up Bertha.


The band sounds good here, as far as cohesion goes, although if anything there’s too much of that. Phil Lesh has ceased to be a source of ideas and a driving force; Weir is mostly playing accompaniment; Mydland adds little aside from decoration; even Garcia, surprisingly, seems almost like a spent force here. It’s not unpleasant music, but other than that it’s a whole lot of nothing.


What was said:\

JSegel:


OK, so I was at this show. I remember the surge of excitement when they started playing Dark Star, banner and all stating how many days since the last one. By that point in the show, however, I was pretty tired (and sadly, unenhanced). The first hour of the show was horrible with Joan Baez and all that—she was going out with Mickey Hart during this period. I saw another show they had done with her earlier in the month, it was definitely not my cuppa at the time. Well, even now, I’d say. Plus, this Dark Star happened in set 3 (set 4 if you count Joan’s set) after a great set 2 with PitB and Terrapin Station that I was very caught up in.

The Tiger guitar is used here and throughout the 1980s, though only 2 Dark Stars with it, here and July 1984.

Dark Star is actually teased earlier, right at the end of the PitB jam, sounds like Bobby who plays the intro lick a couple times, then Jerry starts Terrapin Station instead. This heads back to PitB after 14 minutes before “Drums” and “Space”, though there’s still several songs in store before they actually play Dark Star (space goes into TOO, Not Fade Away, GDtRFB and Morning Dew, before some tuning and then some more intro riff teases. I guess they had planned to do it… or somewhat planned? But yeah, the drums/space thing is its own phenomenon at this point, I have to admit.)

They hit the intro riff all together, very tight and with all the parts, and move into the groove. Since Mickey is here, it’s just going to chug forward forever like a hippie drum circle. (I apologize for my Hart-bashing, but seriously. I lived in Santa Cruz at the time, and the hippie drum circle thing was no joke.) Brent on electric piano, grooving out, Jerry keeps with the theme for a bit before slow cascades of notes, then some interplay between piano and lead guitar as it moves forward. At 2 minutes Jerry finds a wide arpeggio and eddies out on it, then finds a lower one. He’s taking his time to go for it. Some bass soloing for a tad interspersed with lead lines, and back to the theme for a touchstone at 3:30, off again as Brent takes the theme groove for a bit. Verse happens almost immediately at 4:30, the drums again just plow through it, slightly pausing in the middle of line 2. Jerry plays a bit with the melody on guitar while singing, Brent plays out the searchlights casting around (and seems to play a wrong modal note in the outro “transitive nightfall” line!).

On to the middle, Jerry starts building a line upwards, over several times and to lead playing, though at a leisurely pace. He backs off at 6:30 (string break or tuning maybe) and it’s just the piano and Bobby for a bit, but he comes back in with more leisurely playing, though he catches the band up in it and they build it in intensity and volume, into a high eddy before 8 minutes. A slow hill, they wander on up and over the other side to a lower eddy, before 9 minutes it’s back in quiet mode, drums go side stick, electric piano goes for the lead playing while the guitars mostly arpeggiate. Sputnik-like, but then into a trill for a bit before more relatively quiet Jerry soloing, getting faster and jazzier.

They start to pick up the pace a bit in minute 10, more swing to it. More eddying out, before Jerry steps on his fuzz pedal at 12 minutes and goes for fast playing, Brent following him. Some Blues-for-Allah type licks in there, turning around and landing on odd notes. By a minute later he’s back to normal tone and bringing it down again, and back to the theme. Band comes along …and they go into the second verse! Mighty.

Verse at 13:50, he’s remembering the words. Drums again move straight through all lines, bass is on roots. They move to the refrain with a strong pace and big drums and the suspensions on the chords. To the outro, they move into a groove again for a few seconds before starting Bertha.

Well! That was something.

Notes: A few years ago, back about when we started this thread I listened to this one in the midst of the 68/69 Dark Stars, thinking, here’s one I witnessed! —and I hated this version. Now, though, it seems not that bad... I quite like it! It’s not astounding, but it holds together (and they actually do both verses!) When I listened back then, I hated the ultra-mellow hippie vibe groove, I don’t mind it as much today. Same with the clean compressed tone that everybody has in the era of big-time shows, I didn’t dig it.. Listening to it while writing this I can’t believe I was there, the band is really good and this Dark Star has some great playing in it.


Mr. Rain:


I listened to the Healy-Walker-Scotton-Miller-Clugston 143570 source, perhaps the best SBD transfer. Also checked out the Voss audience tape which seemed like the best of the AUDs (though Field's tape is a close competitor). The crowd's shrieking is really annoying at first, but they quiet down within a minute and the band sound is nice & clear after that. Like pbuzby said, Phil's got a nice tone on this AUD; on the other hand he might as well be a guest bass player, for all he adds. Still, I'd recommend this AUD over the SBD for more atmosphere and better tone.

They revive the 12/31/78 idea by starting a third set with Dark Star, but this one falls flat on its face despite the crowd's excitement. In a little arrangement change, Bob joins Jerry & Phil in the intro riff this time (like he does after the verse). Some empty playing follows, basically pretty background music -- no one sounds up to any serious jamming. Now Brent's here with a dinky electric piano sound, and he & Jerry do lots of tinkling. This is all decoration without depth. Phil plays very anonymously, not doing much of anything. Just as all life seems to have left the stage, Jerry brings in the main theme at 3:00, and sings the verse at 4:00. Jerry's singing is getting pretty tattered, and he has trouble with some lines.

But they make it through the verse OK (they've rehearsed it!), and a little bit more energy emerges; Jerry & Phil are playing harder. Jerry seems about to take them someplace...but then he soon just gives up at 5:50. Then for half a minute til 6:25 no one's playing lead, they're all just vamping along, until Jerry wakes up again. The jam starts to get spirited, Jerry's high notes mingling with Brent's chimes. There's a decent amount of energy & interplay for a minute. Then it quiets down at 7:50, and they hover for a bit. Jerry sounds like he's on the verge of a Sputnik, and Brent steps out with some tinkly stuff; it gets vaguely hypnotic. Then after 9m Jerry gets into some laid-back noodling for a while, going round in circles while Bob & Brent play chords & little echoing squawks. (Oddly, Bob's tone sounds so much like Brent, it's like having two Brents!)

Jerry turns on a fuzzy tone at 11:20, hinting at maybe a Spanish Jam-type turn in the jam. For a brief moment around 12:00 it sounds like they're about to segue to a blues tune; but then the momentum dissolves and everyone just kind of fades out. Jerry brings back the main theme at 12:30. Is he going to sing the second verse, for the first time since 1972? Why yes, at 13:08. He sounds exhausted. A big drum roll before the last line adds a little drama. They make their way out of the verse gracefully enough and hover uncertainly for half a minute until Jerry strikes up Bertha.

This is one tired Dark Star. Attempting this at the end of a New Year's party was maybe not the best move. The jam after the verse is okay for a while. I mentally tuned out the busy drummers; and barely noticed Phil since he was just keeping down the low end & hardly contributing anything. Brent sounds content to settle back with his tinkles and not push the jam anywhere; Bob's moved into his '80s chord style and interacts less with Jerry; and Jerry himself can barely keep things afloat. If this were a Dead cover band, I suppose you could say it was recreating the style of '80s Dead really well.


adamos:


Jerry on Tiger and Brent at the keys; his electric piano immediately stands out as something different. They groove along at the beginning in mellow but somewhat snappy fashion. Phil bounces along underneath. Jerry heads out on a line but then pulls back before wandering forth more gently again. Brent and Bob add color and the drummers do their thing without being too overwhelming. There's not a lot happening but it has a pretty feel overall.

Around 2:06 the energy perks up and it feels like they're ready to launch upwards but then they quickly pull it back into a mellow glide. Jerry weaves a delicate line that is complimented by Brent. They gently visit the theme for a bit and then head into the first verse. Jerry's voice sounds weary although there's still some gentleness to it in spots and the execution by the band seems a little bumpy.

After the verse they reset and head out again with a bit more pep. Jerry plays some climbing notes and it feels like something is spinning up but before long they settle back into a mellow groove. It's almost a little strange how quickly these launch pads are abandoned. But they groove along gently and it sounds nice enough.

Jerry perks up again around 6:22 working some low, full notes and the engine starts to rev. They rise to an energetic peak that is pretty powerful compared to what came before it. This runs its course by around 7:45 and there's a hint of Sputnik-like sounds from Jerry as they downshift. Brent adds some flourishes as he works up and down the keys. Things are a little more dreamy and potentially spacey now.

They float along in the ether for a spell and then the energy starts to build up again. There's some ebb and flow followed by a climbing sequence. They collectively rise up but opt not to take it to a dramatic peak. Instead they pull back a bit and get into a repeating thing with Jerry and Brent. Then Jerry switches on an effect at 11:20 and it sounds like things could get more spacey and potentially melty. Brent compliments this with some big flourishes and the band rises up again. But before long they let it go and slip back into a mellow drift.

Jerry goes back to his normal tone and shortly after they start up the second verse. The drummers decide to go bigger this time. After the verse they reset briefly and then drift gently for just a bit before starting up Bertha.

It’s an ok performance. The mellow groove is pleasant and has a pretty feel and there are some more engaging moments along the way. But I agree that on the whole they seemed to leave a lot on the table.